The Customer Catalyst

CHAPTER 9CO-CREATION

Customers: Let's go co-create!

C-CHANGE GROWTH DRIVERS

• In the Customer Economy, collaborative models for innovation have become the norm. Organisations should create business and technology platforms on which their ecosystems of customers, partners and other influencers can co-create. The organisations that create platforms effectively become the emperors and their networks of innovators become kings. Innovation is no longer a top-down, linear process, but instead a continuous collaborative ecosystem that benefits all.
• The best way to achieve co-creation is for employees to be empowered and rewarded for co-creating with customers, partners and other stakeholders. This behaviour must be linked with the tangible results of this newly co-created, customer-led growth gained by all parties involved.
• Make customer co-creation one of your organisational values and part of your customer vision and mission that is led by the CEO in conjunction with someone in the organisation who is accountable for leading co-creation – such as the CCO.
• Learn from the world leader in lighting, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), about how it co-created successfully with its customers, Planet Farms, the largest vertical farm in Europe, and Albert Heijn, the Dutch supermarket chain.

‘The most distinguishing characteristic of complete co-creation to drive customer-led growth is, unsurprisingly, the central role that customers play when they are engaged in a strategic way’ ...